Looking for scary movies to watch this fall? 🍂 If you're in the mood for horror movies on a cold, dark autumn night, this list is for you. These are atmospheric horror movies that feel perfect when the days get shorter, the nights get darker, and spooky season is just around the corner.
From small-town horror and gothic horror to creepy woods, rural nightmares, vampires, supernatural horror, and classic monsters, these movies capture the darker side of autumn without being strictly Halloween movies.
If you're looking for horror movies to watch in the fall, autumn horror movies, scary movies for a rainy night, atmospheric horror movies, creepy movies for October, or horror movies to watch before Halloween, these are some great ones to add to your watchlist.
And this is just the beginning of spooky season. The Halloween movie recommendations are coming later. 🎃
What horror movie makes YOU think of fall? Kill the comments and let me know!
Watch on YouTube. Video by @mykillerbroadcast:7 Scary Movies for a Dark Autumn Night
There is just something about the fall season that makes me want to watch horror movies. The days start getting shorter. The nights get colder. The trees begin to change, the rain comes down, and suddenly horror movies seem a little bit scarier. They feel darker. Maybe it is the weather, or maybe it is just knowing that Halloween is getting closer.
But this is not a Halloween movie list. Not yet, anyway.
We will get to the pumpkins, witches, jack-o'-lanterns, and all the glorious things that come with Halloween. For now, I want to ease into the season with scary movies to watch on a dark autumn night. These are movies that feel like fall. They feel like rainy nights, cold air, dying trees, old houses, small towns, cornfields, and dark woods. They also give you that feeling that summer is almost over.
So grab a blanket, turn the lights down low, and settle in.
The Dark Half (1993)
First up is The Dark Half from 1993.
Thad Beaumont is a writer who has spent years trying to escape the darker side of his past. When a secret pseudonym he used for writing violent novels is exposed, that past comes back to haunt him. Soon, the pseudonym seems to take on a life of its own, and Thad finds himself dealing with a terrifying mystery that may be much closer to home than he realizes.
The Dark Half is almost pure New England horror. It is perfect for a chilly, dark autumn night. The movie is full of rainy days, gray clouds, small-town scenery, old houses, and that bleak Stephen King atmosphere that feels made for this time of year.
I love movies about writers, too, so this one really works for me. It is a slow burn, but you are rewarded for your patience because things get wild by the end. There are also some great practical effects and some seriously gory moments. The overall atmosphere is bleak, but the story keeps your attention all the way through.
The Dark Half gives us that gloomy, rainy version of autumn.
Night of the Scarecrow (1995)
From there, we head into the middle of the cornfields that gives us that fall vibe for sure with Night of the Scarecrow from 1995, not to be confused with Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981). Although that one is totally awesome too and I highly recommend checking it out also.
In a small rural community, a group of people become caught up in an old curse involving a scarecrow and a murdered man who may have returned from the grave. As the supernatural threat begins targeting the people responsible, the town finds itself dealing with an old and very angry form of revenge.
I do not think I need to explain why this one feels like fall. It takes place in the middle of a cornfield and involves a scarecrow.
The movie has a fun supernatural element, along with some pretty wild gore. Cornstalks, vines, and sticks grow out of one chick in one particularly nasty scene. The practical blood and gore are a lot of fun, while some of the bad digital effects have that charming '90s feel.
I remember watching this movie when I was younger, and it scared the shit out of me because I lived in a rural area surrounded by cornfields. That made the whole thing feel a little too close to home.
The scarecrow villain is also wonderfully over the top. He laughs, acts strange, and sometimes gets almost corny. But honestly, I love that about it. Sometimes you just want some cheesy horror.
Salem's Lot (1979)
Next, we head to a small New England town where something devilish is lurking behind the windows in 1979's Salem's Lot.
Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot, Maine, hoping to write a book about an old house that has haunted him since childhood. But after a mysterious stranger arrives, people begin disappearing. Ben slowly realizes that something supernatural is spreading through the community.
At three hours, Salem's Lot is a commitment, but it is worth it. It has that Stephen King New England atmosphere, with gloom, gray skies, cold weather, fog, and plenty of nighttime scenes. Vampires also just feel like fall to me. I do not know why, but I always want to watch vampire movies during Halloween season. Is it my favorite vampire movie? No, that one will always go to The Lost Boys (1987), but this one is definitely up there.
The vampire makeup and practical effects still work. The main villain has a very Nosferatu-style look, and it fits the movie perfectly. Even today, the famous window scene with the little boy floating outside remains creepy.
If you want top-tier vampire horror on a cold autumn night, Salem's Lot is a great choice.
Cherry Falls (2000)
For something with more of a slasher feel, there is Cherry Falls from 2000.
In the small town of Cherry Falls, a series of murders begins targeting teenagers. The victims have something unusual in common, and the teenagers soon discover that the killings may be connected to a much darker secret buried in their community.
Cherry Falls has chilly nights, a small town, high school students trying to figure out who the killer is, and a mystery involving the victims being virgins. It stars Brittany Murphy who I think does a fabulous job here. It has that late-'90s and early-2000s slasher feeling, but it also works as an autumn movie even though it is not really a Halloween movie.
Pet Sematary (1989)
Then we head back to Maine for one of my favorites that I watched when I was far too young, Pet Sematary from 1989. I'm certain it's my favorite Stephen King story.
Louis Creed moves his family to a quiet home in rural Maine, hoping for a fresh start. Their new property sits beside an ancient burial ground, and beyond it lies something far more dangerous. After tragedy strikes, Louis discovers that some things are better left buried.
Pet Sematary is one of those movies where the landscape is completely part of the atmosphere. It is dark, gray, creepy, and bleak. The cemetery, the woods, the old house, and the cold weather give it those perfect Halloween and autumn vibes.
This is still one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. Zelda still scares the shit out of me, and the story becomes even more disturbing when you think about it as an adult. The idea behind the burial ground is also incredible. If you could bury something there and have it come back, what would you bury? And what would come back with it?
That is what makes Pet Sematary so disturbing. It is not just scary. It gets inside your head.
The Ritual (2017)
We have spent a lot of time talking about small towns, so let's head out to the woods with 2017's The Ritual.
Four friends head into the Scandinavian wilderness on a hiking trip, but after one of them is injured, they decide to take a shortcut through the forest. That decision leads them somewhere they were never supposed to be. As they struggle to find their way out, they begin encountering strange signs that suggest they are not alone in the woods.
The Ritual takes place completely in the woods. It has that rainy atmosphere, that doom, that gloom, fog, trees, and leaves. It really has that fall atmosphere.
The four friends are on the hike to commemorate another friend who died tragically. That piece plays into the story throughout the movie. After one of them gets injured, they take a shortcut and find a house in the woods. Then they find some creepy things there, and it becomes clear that something is very wrong.
The Scandinavian forests are vast, and they are lost. It could take hours or even days for them to get out, even if they knew the way. Then they come across something they should never have found, and everything hits the fan in a gruesome and gory way.
The supernatural elements are done in a realistic way that makes them almost believable. The movie keeps you guessing for most of the runtime. Then, once you get the explanation toward the end, it becomes terrifying.
Check out The Ritual. It is truly a good time and one of those movies that warms your soul on a cold autumn night.
But what if you had to try and survive your own house?
The Amityville Horror (1979)
That is exactly what the Lutz family had to do in The Amityville Horror from 1979.
The Lutz family moves into a beautiful house in Amityville, Long Island, unaware of the horrifying events that took place there just one year earlier. At first, the house seems like a perfect new home. But before long, strange things begin happening, and the family realizes something inside the house may be deeply wrong. As the haunting becomes increasingly intense, their dream home turns into a nightmare they cannot escape.
The Amityville Horror is another movie from my childhood. It was one of the first haunted-house and possession movies I ever saw, before I even knew who Ed and Lorraine Warren were. I became obsessed with this movie. I was fascinated by the fact that it was loosely based on a true story, and I remember doing research to figure out what elements were true and what actually happened.
It is such an interesting tale, but it is also a terrifying movie which did spawn a really good remake with Ryan Reynolds, so check that one out too. The story takes the haunted-house idea to a whole new level.
The house, the weather, and the darkness in this movie are what make it perfect for autumn. Even the family is wearing sweaters and coats, so you can tell it is chilly outside. That makes the movie even better when you are sitting warm and comfortable on your couch watching it.
There are certain scenes in here that I will never forget. The house alone feels like its own character. It comes alive. Those windows are terrifying to look at, and there are moments when you would not even want to be standing outside that house.
The father in this movie is also absolutely terrifying as the haunting takes hold of him. It all ties back to the story that happened a year earlier. It is such a good flick and such a creepy ghost story that spawned several sequels that were pretty good, especially the second one was pretty decent.
And that is my idea of a dark, cold autumn night.
These are not necessarily Halloween movies. We are not quite there yet. You do not want to jump the gun on Halloween and watch them all before October gets here.
Sometimes it is better to ease into the season.
Give me the fall weather, the dying trees, the rain, the sweaters, the fog, the cornfields, the woods, the small towns, and the old houses. Give me movies that make summer feel like it is finally disappearing.
Halloween will be here soon enough.
For now, turn down the lights, grab a blanket, and put on something scary. Let the autumn night set the mood.
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